THE MELINGRIFFITH TIN PLATE WORKS

Many members of Cowbridge U3A History Group may have walked or cycled the section of the Taff Trail that runs, close to the river, between the pedestrian bridge over the Taff at Radyr to the next one upstream near Tongwynlais. Certainly some of the U3A walking groups have trodden this path in recent years.

The Melingriffith Water Pump, a scheduled monument, not too far away, may have been viewed.

This machine is one of the last remaining traces of the Melingriffith Tin Works, which was founded before 1750 and was the largest tin-plate works in the world by the end of the 18th Century. The business closed in 1957 and the site has, not very long ago, been developed for housing.

The Melingriffith water pump

The Melingriffith Tin Works in 1913

giant cogged flywheel at the Tin Works

What many may not know is that this section of the Taff Trail was originally the track of a horse-drawn tramway, built around 1815 to connect the tin works with Pentyrch Ironworks. A restored section of tramway can be found (if you look hard enough!) on the land side of the Taff Trail, a little way downstream of Radyr Weir.

The tramway was converted in 1871 to a standard-gauge railway and extended northwards to a junction with the Taff Vale Railway near Pentyrch Halt (the station building of which is still there, now a private house close to Pugh’s Garden Centre).

short section of the horsedrawn tramway

A close up of the caption on the rail

Locomotive operating from the works

Pentyrch Halt

The Tin Works had a locomotive manufactured by Peckett and Sons of Bristol, which was delivered in 1916. Despite hard work and, often, poor maintenance, these engines were long-lasting.

It may be the effects of heavy rain earlier in the year, followed by three months of drought, but the number of trees in leaf coming down in recent weeks has been noticeable. This has been true of several trees on the bank of the river bordering the Taff Trail, which has caused erosion of the path. What has been revealed underneath the concrete? The wooden sleepers of the railway track; they, unlike the rails, were never removed, just covered over, and the cement was poured on top of them. Another, albeit transient, reminder of the Melingriffith Tin Works.

Taff Trail adjacent to the river no.1

Taff Trail adjacent to the river no.2

Taff Trail adjacent to the river no.3

Steve Monaghan